Method and apparatus for control of humidity



Oct. 11, 1949. Q o s r AL 2,484,527

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF HUMIDITY Filed Feb. 1, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hwy/M40 CWW TkDma-SERhowd-S, flharles'fl-Sowthwiclz fi Oct. 11, 1949. "r. H. RHOADS ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF HUMIDITY Filed Feb. 1, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 11, 1949 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF HUMIDITY Thomas H. Rhoads, Denville, N. J and Charles A.

Southwick,

Application February 1, 1945,

5 Claims.

It is an object of this invention to provide a method of controlling and adjusting the humidity of air for the purpose of using the conditioned air as a testing medium.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a testing apparatus in which samples may be exposed for any desired period to a predetermined combination of temperature and humidity.

The above and other objects will be made clear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the annexed drawings in which- Figure l is a central vertical section through an apparatus suitable for carrying out the improved method, and,

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Within the last ten years there has been in the packaging industry an increasing use of impervious materials. These may take the form of imperviously coated paper or laminated glassine or transparent coated films such as cellophane" or of homogeneous films formed of any of a variety of synthetic materials such as rubber hydrochloride (Pliofilm) or for example, any of a variety of vinyl polymers or copolymers sold under the names Vinylite, Koroseal, Saran and many others. When sheet material of any of the aforementioned types is formed in packages, one of the most important properties for which such material is selected is resistance to the penetration of water vapor. Any of these sheets will form substantially a perfect barrier to the transmission of water itself but none of thees completely excludes the penetration of water vapor. At the same time the efiiciency of the package formed from such sheets depends in large measure upon the exclusion or retention of moisture vapor from or within the commodity packaged. It is, in fact, indispensible to a proper specification of material that the resistance of the material to moisture vapor penetration be measured with sufficient accuracy to afford an accurate, quantitative comparison between a variety of samples.

This is usually accomplished by using a sample of the sheet to be tested as a seal for a measured quantity of a suitable hygroscopic substance and exposing the specimen to air at predetermined temperature and humidity for a considerable time, after which the gain in moisture content of the hygroscopic material affords a measure of the moisture vapor transmission characteristic of the sheet to be tested.

The regulation of the dry bulb temperature of air is easily accomplished, but the regulation of humidity is an intricate problem. The intricacy, however, lies in the nature of the measurements Jr., Mount Vernon,

Ohio

Serial No. 575,684

wardly into the casing l0.

' channel 22 and an inner which must be taken and the calculations in which such measurements are involved. In most practical work, humidity is determined from a computation of the relationship of wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures, and it is, of course, possible through suitable computing apparatus to effect an automatic control of humidity based on these temperatures. Such a control, however, presents extreme practical difficulty when the control must be exerted continuously for a considerable period of time, and, in testing of the type above described, the usual test period approximates 100 hours.

This invention contemplates a method of controlling the humidity of a stream of air by which control is responsive strictly to dry bulb temperatures. From the standpoint of apparatus, the invention not only provides means for carrying out this method but provides a construction having great practical utility for the purpose of testing the moisture vapor characteristics of various materials.

The principles of the improved method will be made clear in the course of describing the details of the improved apparatus.

Figure 1 shows a cylindrical casing 10 secured to a bracket [2 which is mounted on a suitable base M. A motor (not shown) is mounted within the base I4 and has a shaft l6 extending up- Inside the casing 10, and surrounding the shaft I6, is a frame member l8 which houses a fan 20 secured to the shaft l6 to rotate therewith. Both the side walls and the are divided into an outer channel 24. A cylindrical baflie 26 separates the inner channel 22 from the outer channel 24 in the region of the side walls and an annular baflle 2B separates the channels in the region of the bottom. The inner limit of the inner channel 24 is defined by a cylindrical wall 30 in the by a disc 32 at the bottom. The cylindrical wall 30 is joined to the disc 32 and the cylindrical baflie 26 is joined to the wall 28. An annular ring 33 joins the outer wall 34 and the inner wall 30 bottom of the casing ID of the casing Ill. The baflle 26 at the upper edge 33 to provide com- 22 and 24.

terminates short of the ring munication between channels From the foregoing it delivers a stream of air moves upwardly, then over the edge of the baffle 26 and back through the channel 24. A ring-like heating element 36 is provided in adjacent the bottom element 38 is provided adjacent the upper edge of region of the side walls and is clear that the fan 20 to the channel 22 which the channel 22 of the casing H]. A control the bafile 26 and controls the temperature of the heating element 36 in accordance with the dry bulb temperature of the air flowing from the channel 22 to channel 24. This provides accurate control of the temperature of the inner Wall 30 of the casing I 0.

At the center of the ring 32 is an upstanding collar 4:; ;surrounding=the shaft 5.6. An inner collar 42 lies inside the collar 50 and is joined to the housing 88. A bushing 34 is mounted Within the collar t2 and forms an upper bearing for the shaft Hi. The joint between the outer collar 40 and the disc 32 is formed by weldingor other suitable means to provide a watertight joint. A bracket 46 surrounds the collar 40 and has a series of spaced arms 48 extending upwardly therefrom with the upper extremities joined by an annular ring 50.

Concentric with the ring 53 and suitably secured thereto is an annular disc 52. At the center ofthe disc .52 is-an upstandingannular channeLmernber 54 which extendsboth above and bplowthedisc 52. Theehannel member .54 at its lower end is partially closed by an annular ring. 5,5. immediately below the ring 56 is .a secondian .58 secured to the upper extremities oft-he shaft 16. At the outer-edge of the annularsdisc 521s .a cylindricalbafiie .member 60 extendingupwardly beyond the upper terminus ofthe innerchannel fi. Themember lid defines, with thewall at of thecasing It, an annular chamber .62. The -fan 5.8 drives .air into the channel 62 which air emerges fromthecha-nnel 6 ,2.and returns through the member t.

ilihe. casing I0 is provided with a lid 64 which.

has-.a-sea-led connectionfifi with the ring 32 which joins/the Walls .39 and 34 ofthecasing- I ll. ,A frustoeconical .bafiie 8 is secured to the lid 64 by any suitable .means and serves the dual purpose of-guiding the .air ernerging from the channel 62 back to-ttlie memberi l and of returning any condensate which may formthereon back! to the chaneL SZ -r-ath er. than permitting. such condensate to drip-centrally through the member 54.

Aninner basket member is provided'to hold the actualtest specimens. Thismember is made up of an annular bottomlmember 1.4, a similar annulamtonmember l6-with a series-of rods 16 J'Qiningthe peripheries of-central openings 1-76 and Mflnftheplates 16 and 14,-respectively. At the outer peripheries, plates 76 and M are joined by a series of rods 72. At spaced intervals around the outer periphery of lthe -bottom plate 1-4, are mounted brackets A in which are mounted flanged wheels .s 2 which "roll on an I annular track 84 :secured to-thwbottom disc..52. This permits the basket 1!! 'to rotate inside'the cylindrical baffiefiufor apu-rpose Whichwill presently be described.

Insidethe basket member ll! number of vertically spaced .annularshelves .Bii are mounted. Each shelf is made up ofsa-plurality of segments 88 -(Fig.-.2) which restattheirouter extremities upon brackets .fiihsecured to the rods and at their inner extremitiesupon lugs d2 secured -to the ,rods 18. Tie mods :94 join the several segments toyrarevent" lateral shifting or tipping.

A .ringelike. heating. element 96 provided between-the plate 52. cf'the'hasket m and the inner bottom disc 32 ofthe-casing l 0. Thisheating elementBfi is controlled by a-,-thermostat S8 preferably mounted onthe central line of the shaft lifl above theztop-plate 16 of thebasket 10. The combination. of, heating. element 9.6 and the therthermosta '-is.maintainedubelow the dew point of the air enair at a predetermined dry bulb temperature.

pre /iouslydesoribed, the temperature of the innerwalltii ofthe casing H] is controlled by the combination of the heating element 36 and the -Thi sjtemperature of the wall 30 teli ngthe channelBZ. Since this air is saturated, condensation takes place with the condensate drainingdown the wall 3& to the bottom of the casing 83.

Vlflaenv the air, flows. upwardly, between. the inner wall ,Sflof theeaeing L0 and the wall iii-each radial vertical plane-may be considered .as a longitudinal cross section throughanordinary pipe. .Thevelocity:transverselyof the section varies in substantially :the same manner as does the :velocity of a .moving.columnv of. liquidv or a acrpss the transverse section of .a'cylindrical pipe. If ,velocities were plotted .vectorially across the section they wouldform; a pattern approximating anaxial section through. one end. of an. ellipsoid of revolution. Maximum velocity ;is attained midwaybetweenthevvalls 3ilandlifl and minimum velocity is attained in contact with saidwalls. It is clear .thereforethat only aininor portion of. the total weightofairpassing through the conduit .has its temperature reduced .to -that of the v.wall with which it .cpntacts. The remainder of .the air remains saturated .and substantially above theultimate predetermined temperature. Theair-pas'sing.closeto the control wall .3ilhas its temperature reduced and .by -.condensation gives up a portion .of its contained moisture. When the .air emerges vfrom the .cha-nn e l; .6,Z, strikes ,the baflie 3 and flows radially .inward there is. a thorough mixing of. the-molecules producing .,a resultant temperature lower :than the entering; temperature. of. theair and highersthan the temperature ofthe control Wall .38. .At.the

same. time. there is,,an adjustment .otthe relativehumidityof the ,whole .mass'of air .toa point below. saturation.

It is clear that .-for a giventemperature-and rateoffiow of saturated air. entering "the channel 52, .and for .a given setof dimensions ior the channel itself, regulationofthe temperatureof either. or. both .walls .of the channel will 2 provide av positive ,predetermination .ofthe average. temperaturerand humidity oftheair emerginghgom the channel. ,In short, control of the-temperature of, the channel ,wallorwalls affords. absolute controlofthe insulating -efiect of such wallsv and therefore absolute control .of. the amount ofsheat given upby the air and itsentrained moisturedn nassine hr u h h cha e Thestarting point is -.always saturation at a temperature established .at the entrance. of .the channel but something less than saturation .will always be desired at :the ;.exit. of the channel.

For. certain combinations of entrance conditions,- exit conditions and rate of flow, itmay ;b 8 ;I 1e G QS- sary, in. order. to extract suiiicient moisture to attain t de r la e-h mid tya theexit to lower ;the' average, d -ry bulb temperature of the ai at th exi bel w h .-,de ired medete iminei temperature. In such case, this invention contemplates the use of a supplemental heater at or adjacent the exit of the channel to restore the dry bulb temperature of the air to the predetermined point.

For accurate testing purposes, it is essential that temperature equilibrium be reached. throughout the apparatus before the taking of any readings. Any removal of the lid or cover 64 would instantly permit the escape of most of the warm air within the casing it) and considerable time will be required to re-establish temperature equilibrium. The effect of opening a side Wall, however, is far less severe for the reason that there is no direct convection current to remove air from the casing. There is, accordingly,

rovided in the wall of the casing a door Hill. This door may be either circular or rectangular, as desired. In either case, it is mounted in a frame I02 which joins the walls 30 and 34 of the casing ill to block any communication between the doorway and the channels 22 and 24. The casing as has a similar doorway I04, defined by flanges tilt in which are mounted a sealing link or member I98 which has compression sealing with the frame of the door 100. This prevents, so long as the door is closed, any delivery of humid air from the channel 62 to the inner face H of the door Hill and tends to prevent, or at least minimize, the the inner face H0. The face H0 is formed of transparent glass or plastic and there is provided an outer face I 12 of similar material. These faces or plates are secured and sealed within the frame of the door Hill by any suitable means and provide an insulating air space while permitting inspection of the interior of the cabinet without the necessity of opening the door Hill. The basket being rotatable, it is possible to place on the shelves 86 as many specimens as the shelves will hold merely by opening the door if") and placing or removing such specimens in the same way, both operations being conducted with a minimum disturbance of thermal equilibrium. So far as the interior of the casing Ill is concerned, the air fiowing through the channel 24 provides the precise predetermined insulating effect which is desired. So far as the exterior of the casing in is concerned, the use of reflective coatings on either, or both, surfaces of the wall 3-4. and either, or both, surfaces of the bafile 26, will usually be sufiicient to prevent any disturbance of thermal equilibrium by changes in outside atmospheric conditions. This invention contemplates, however, the use of bulk insulating material wherever such use may be desirable. This would include the bottom walls as well as the side walls.

By means of the accuracy of control afforded by the method and apparatus disclosed herein, it is possible to avoid any condensation of moisture in liquid form in contact with the sheet material being tested. Actual liquid in such contact can and usually does completely vitiate the validity of the results. This occurs because in almost all sheet materials there is some soluble matter present. Moisture in the form of liquid in contact with the sheet will dissolve this material.

This immediately sets up a transmission of the liquid itself which is probably osmotic in character. Any such transmission of moisture in liquid form, as distinct from vapor form, will seriously affect the results, particulaly where the material being tested has high resistance to moisture vapor penetration, and may therefore be formation of condensate on expected to transmit only a very small absolute quantity of moisture.

It is a basic requirement of any testing ap paratus that it yield uniform results irrespective of the place in which it is operated, and irrespective (within reason, of course) of the skill of the operator. The cabinet disclosed herein brings the conditioned air in contact with the test samples at minimum velocity. This contributes to the uniformity of results. If air, at any degree of humidity, has any perceptible velocity in moving over the test surface, the results attained are entirely unpredictable. This is because there is no means in existence affording control of the absolute velocity of the molecules of air in contact with the sheet. It is a wellknown fact that there is no method by which. absolute air velocity even can be measured, let alone controlled. At best, only an average velocity is measurable. The effect of velocity on the test, however, depends on absolute velocity. Since this cannot be controlled, uniformity increases as velocity is minimized.

We claim:

1. A testing device of the class described: comprising at least one annular shelf having a central opening, a cylindrical lbaffle surrounding said shelf, a cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said baffle to define therewith an annular channel, a second cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said first named cylindrical wall to define therewith an annular channel surrounding said first named annular channel, means for delivering saturated air at predetermined temperature through said first named channel, means for delivering a fluid medium at predetermined temperature through said second named channel whereby to control the temperature of said first named cylindrical wall and means for guiding air emerging from said first named cylindrical channel into and through the opening in said shelf.

2. A testing device of the class described comprising at least one annular shelf having a central opening, a cylindrical loafile surrounding said shelf, a cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said baffle to define therewith an annular channel, a second cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said first named cylindrical wall to define therewith an annular channel surrounding said first named annular channel, means for delivering saturated air at predetermined temperature through said first named channel, means for delivering a fluid medium at predetermined temperature through said second named channel whereby to control the temperature of said first named cylindrical wall, and means for guiding air emerging from said first named cylindrical channel into and through the opening in said shelf, the direction of a flow of air through said first named channel being opposite to the direction of flow of said fluid medium through said second named channel.

3. A testing device of the class described; comprising at least one annular shelf to support test specimens, said shelf having a central opening, a cylindrical baffie surrounding said shelf, a cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said baffle to define therewith an annular channel, means for delivering saturated air at predetermined temperature through said channel, means for controlling the temperature of said cylindrical wall, and means for guiding air emerging from said channel into and through the opening in Sfiridshelf, said ibaflie andgsaid 'Wall having registering doorways formed therein,. a frame surrounding said doorways-and connecting said baflie and said walland iblocking-accessfrom said channelto saidM-doorways and ra-door closing said doorways.

'4. -A testing device of the class described; comprising; at least one -.-annular shelf to "supporttest specimens, said';sh-elf having-a central opening, a;cylindricalbafflesurrounding said shelf, a cylindrieal' wall surrounding and spaced :from said hafiie to odfil'le therewith an annular channel, means i or delivering saturated air-at *predetermined temperature through said channel, means for --eentro1iin,g the'f-temperature of said cylindricalvwall, and'mea-nsfor guiding air emerging from said .-ch-a-ime1 i nto and. cthrough the opening in said -:shelf, said hafiie--ancl-said wall-having registering doorways formed therein, a frame surrounding said doorways and connecting said baflie and saidwalliand blocking access from said-channel .to saiddoorways and a door closing said doorways, said shelf beingvrotat'ablymcunted about a central axis so that all portions'of said shelf may be rendered accessible'to said doorways,

--5. Atesting-deviceof the class described: comprising at least one annular shelf to support'test specimens, said shelf having a central opening, a cylindrical =ba'fiie surrounding said shelf, a cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said bafiie to define therewith an annular channel, a second cylindrical bafiie surrounding and spaced from said cylindrical wall to define therewith a channelsurrounding said; first namedchannel, asecond. cylindrical wall surrounding and spaced from said second named cylindrical baffle to define therewith ;a third annular channel surrounding said first and second named annular channels, an: annular :ring joining said first ,;-and second .named cylindrical walls and being spaced 'from;the endwiseqextremity of said second named cylindricalibafiie, means for delivering saturated air, at a predetermined. temperature:throughysaid first named channel, means for guiding air emerging fromsaid first named channel into and through the opening in said shelf, means for delivering .a fluid medium at predetermined temperaturezthroughithe last identified channel over the; second named bafiie and through the second identified channel whereby to control the temperature-of the first identified cylindrical wall.

THOMAS H. RHOADS. CHARLES A. SOUTHWICK, JR.

1 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 620,139 Hysore Feb. 28, 1899 963,832 Tiemann July 12, 1910 981,818 Tiemann Jan. 17,1911 1,442,179 Schnelfble Jan. 16, 1923 1,853,424 Harris Apr. 12, 1932 2,279,804 Walz Apr. 14, 1942 

